Fear of Flying
by Aunty Em
Summary: If there was one thing Rose had to inherit from her mom, it was her fear of flying...


Rose/Scorpius- Fear of Flying

"I told you," Rose insisted, arms crossed, "You will not get me on that thing."

"Why not?" Scorpius shot back with a belligerent look, holding his Nimbus. "Besides your dad's car, which he won't even let me look at, let alone get in, it's the fastest way to London. We can't just walk, we'll be late for Teddy's party. Your dad would slice me in half."

"Let's just Apparate," Rose suggested. "You have your license, just let me go along-side."

"You nearly splinched me last time!" Scorpius exclaimed, a frightened look splashing across his face. "I'm not doing that again."

Rose sighed. She clearly wasn't winning this argument, but there was no way she was flying a broomstick to London. And she wasn't about to let him know why. "Well, I'm not riding that thing. It's not safe."

Scorpius scoffed. "Says the girl who's related to James Potter. And besides, do you doubt my flying abilities that much? We'll be fine."

Rose jutted her jaw out, narrowing her eyes. "Well, I'm still not riding that thing."

Scorpius sighed dramatically, throwing his hands in the air. "Jeez, Rose! What, are you afraid of flying or something?"

"No I'm not." She knew she answered that a little too quickly. Hopefully, he wouldn't notice.

No such luck. "Are you sure?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. Rose remained silent, though she could tell that in itself was enough of an answer. Scorpius sighed, though there was relief in his expression. "Well, that's fine then. But we still don't have another option." Upon seeing the apprehension in her face, he graced her with a rare, warming smile. "Don't worry. I'll be there too. Nothing to be afraid of." He let go of his broom, letting it hover in the air, and threw a leg over.

"I don't know..." Rose began, wondering if she could trust herself to a skinny piece of wood.

Scorpius turned around, his grin now something mischievous. "Come on, Ginger," he called, using her favorite pet name. He held out a hand. "I dare you."

Rose knew she couldn't turn him down now. She took the offered grasp, and swung a leg over the broom behind him. "I can't believe I'm letting you talk me into this," she muttered.

Scorpius snickered. "I didn't say a thing," he reminded her. "Now, hold on tight..." Then, he abruptly kicked off, shooting up like a rocket.

Rose, taken by surprise, screamed. Sitting on a stick 1000 feet above the ground was not her idea of a safe ride. She wrapped her arms around Scorpius' waist, burying her face in his coat. "No, no, no, NO, NO!"

"Weasel... I'm dying here..." Scorpius' voice choked from in front of her. Rose loosened her grip slightly. "Better," he gasped. Then he turned around to smile at her. "See? Not so bad. And that was the scary part. It'll all be smooth sailing from here on."

Rose lifted her head from his jacket momentarily. "Not so bad?!" she repeated. "I thought I was going to fall off!"

"But you didn't now, did you?" Scorpius reasoned. "Trust me. It'll all be fine. Now, let's go, shall we?" He leaned forward, and they shot off into the night sky.

After a while, Rose finally relaxed enough to look up from her usual woolen view. She looked down hesitantly, then gasped. Below her was the expanse of Britain, little fuzzy trees and droplet-sized lakes littering the earth. She had never seen anything like it.

"Like it, do you?" Scorpius leaned around again, a closed smile just blossoming his face.

Rose grinned, exhilarated. "It's beautiful," she gushed. "It's so amazing up here."

Scorpius' grin widened slightly. "It's calming to watch," he admitted. "Sometimes, I'll just come up here, so I can watch the ground and sky all at once."

"I can see why," Rose replied, looking down again. "I can't believe I've never seen this before."

"That's what I'm here for," Scorpius quipped. He puffed his cheeks, letting the air escape in a puff of cold clouds. "This is nice," he confessed. "Better than London."

"Better than a party," Rose finished for him. She bit her lip, wondering whether to listen to her mom's nagging voice in the back of her head, then deciding she didn't give a damn. She poked her head over Scorpius' shoulder. "I'm sure Teddy could manage without us," she offered.

Scorpius cocked an eyebrow, grinning. "I'm sure Teddy will forgive us. After all, we did hit a bad weather patch on the way here..."

Rose grinned. "I love your excuse-making abilities," she teased.

"Flirt," he shot back. Rose simply laughed, and they flew away into the night sky, with nothing but time.

~Fin~


End file.
